System and method for providing wearable authentication and management

ABSTRACT

A system for wearable authentication and management is disclosed. In particular, the system may include identifying and authenticating a user through biometric data or movement signatures specific to the wearer of a wearable device. Once the user and wearable device are authenticated, the system may activate and provision connectivity services for the wearable device, associate the device with a device ecosystem of the user, and push predefined settings to the wearable device. Additionally, the system may deliver communications that are transmitted to other devices in the device ecosystem to the wearable device while the wearable device is worn by the user. If the user no longer wears the wearable device or the wearable device is not utilized for a period of time, the system may deactivate the connectivity services for the wearable device and remove any settings pushed to the wearable device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/030,518, filed Jul. 9, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/093,440, filed Apr. 7, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,021,094), which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to network security and authenticationtechnologies, connectivity service sharing technologies, mobile devicetechnologies, and wearable device technologies, and more particularly,to a system and method for providing wearable authentication andmanagement.

BACKGROUND

In today's society, users are increasingly utilizing network and otherservice providers to gain access to the Internet, access softwareservices, request and receive various types of content, access softwareapplications, and perform a variety of other tasks and functions.Additionally, as technology has progressed, users are increasingly usingnot only smartphones to access content and services, but also a varietyof other devices to access content and services. Such devices include,but are not limited to, laptops, tablets, phablets, computers, and avariety of wearable devices. The wearable device space is poised toexpand dramatically in the coming years. For example, certain analystsare predicting multi-billion dollars in revenue for the wearable devicespace alone. Currently, many users view wearable devices, such as smartwatches, as accessories to their smartphones instead of as replacements.However, as wearable devices start to gain further traction with users,such users will expect such wearable devices to have similarfunctionality and features as their smartphones. Additionally, much likethe traditional watch and fashion jewelry space, it will be common forusers to own multiple devices that serve similar functions. Furthermore,an increasing number of users are becoming familiar with the Internet ofThings (IoT), which is the network of physical objects embedded withsoftware, sensors, electronics, and network connectivity that enablessuch objects to exchange data between each other and with varioussystems.

While current technologies provide for many benefits and efficiencies,current technologies still have many shortcomings. In particular,current technologies often provide limited ways in which to authenticateusers into various systems, device ecosystems, and networks.Additionally, current technologies often require users to subscribe toseparate connectivity services for each device in their deviceecosystem. For example, some users may purchase a wireless planspecifically for their smartphone, and may separately purchase awireless plan specifically for their cellular-enabled tablet. As aresult, this creates challenges for services providers with regard toboth authentication and in the delivery of services. As a result,current methodologies and technologies associated with authenticatingusers and provisioning network and connectivity services may be modifiedso as to provide enhanced quality-of-service for users and companies.Such enhancements and improvements to methodologies and technologies mayprovide for improved customer satisfaction, increased security,increased ease-of-use, and substantial cost savings.

SUMMARY

A system and accompanying methods for providing wearable authenticationand management are disclosed. In particular, the system and methods mayallow for the identification and authentication of users through the useof biometric data, movement signatures, and/or other authenticationinformation specific to a user of a user device, such as a wearabledevice. Based on the authentication, the system and methods may delivera number of different capabilities, experiences, and services to theuser and/or the user device. In order to accomplish the foregoing, thesystem and methods may involve receiving biometric data, a movementsignature, and/or other authentication information from a wearabledevice worn by a user. The system and methods may analyze the biometricdata, movement signature, and/or authentication information to determineif they match biometric data, a movement signature and/or authenticationinformation associated with a plan for connectivity services. If thebiometric data, movement signature, and/or authentication information donot match the biometric data, the movement signature, and/or theauthentication information associated with the plan, the system andmethods may prevent the wearable device and the user from beingprovisioned with or utilizing the connectivity services associated withthe plan.

If, however, the received biometric data, movement signature, and/orauthentication information do match the biometric data, the movementsignature, and/or the authentication information associated with theplan, the system and methods may include authenticating the user and thewearable device worn by the user. Once the user and wearable device areauthenticated, the system and methods may include activating andprovisioning wireless connectivity for the wearable device andassociating the device with the various services under the plan. Incertain embodiments, the wearable device may be joined to a deviceecosystem formed by the devices already serviced under the plan. Thesystem and methods may also include delivering predefined settingstailored to the wearable device, and delivering communications that aresent to other devices in the device ecosystem also to the wearabledevice. In certain embodiments, the system and methods may provide foradditional levels of authentication so as to allow the wearable deviceto securely access the user's connected home, bank accounts, officebuildings, hotels, vehicles, devices, and/or programs. In certainembodiments, the system and methods may allow the wearable device to beautomatically granted access to participate in high-securitytransactions based on the authentication.

If the user ceases to wear the wearable device or does not utilize thewearable device for a threshold period of time, the system and methodsmay include deactivating the connectivity services that were provisionedfor the wearable device. Additionally, the system and methods mayinclude removing the predefined settings pushed to the wearable deviceafter authentication. Furthermore, the system and methods may alsoinclude removing any data and content provided to the wearable devicewhile the wearable device was being worn by the user. In certainembodiments, the system and methods may include providing notificationsof unauthorized usage if the wearable device is not authenticated or thewearable device is stolen. In such embodiments, the system and methodsmay include tracking and monitoring the wearable device. In additionalembodiments, the system and methods may include transmittingnotifications to the user associated with the plan if the wearabledevice (or other device) has not been utilized for a selected period oftime. In such a scenario, the system and methods may enable the user toterminate any services being provided to the wearable device (or otherdevice).

Notably, the system and methods may enable users to have multipledevices without having to maintain an individual connection for eachdevice in the users' device ecosystems. Additionally, in certainembodiments, the system and methods may more efficiently utilize networkresources by only creating a connection for a device while it is beingworn. The system and methods may provide for a seamless experienceallowing for connectivity to connected wearable devices without the needto provision or establish a connection for each use. The systems andmethods also allow for highly secure authentication allowing users toprotect what is important to them, and also ensure proper access by anenterprise. Furthermore, the system and methods allow users to bettermanage the number of active devices on their plan and quickly understandwhich devices have been inactive for a given period of time. As a resultof the foregoing, the system and methods allow for greater conservationof network resources, improved user satisfaction, increasedauthentication and security, increased ease-of-use, and substantial costsavings.

In one embodiment, a system for providing wearable authentication andmanagement is disclosed. The system may include a memory that storesinstructions and a processor that executes the instructions to performvarious operations of the system. The system may perform an operationthat includes receiving first biometric data and/or a first movementsignature from a first wearable device worn by a first user. Based onthe first biometric data and/or first movement signature received fromthe first wearable device worn by the first user, the system may performan operation that includes determining if the first biometric datamatches second biometric data associated with a plan for connectivityservices provided by a service provider and/or determining if the firstmovement signature matches a second movement signature associated withthe plan. If the first biometric data matches the second biometric dataand/or if the first movement signature matches the second movementsignature, the system may perform an operation that includesauthenticating the first user and the first wearable device worn by thefirst user for access to the connectivity services. After authenticatingthe first user and the first wearable device, the system may perform anoperation that includes provisioning the connectivity services for thefirst wearable device. The system may then proceed to perform anoperation that includes delivering, to the first wearable device,predefined settings established for the first wearable device in theplan for the connectivity services. Finally, the system may proceed toperform an operation that includes delivering, to the first wearabledevice, a communication sent to a primary device of the first user.

In another embodiment, a method for providing wearable authenticationand management is disclosed. The method may include utilizing a memorythat stores instructions, and a processor that executes the instructionsto perform the various functions of the method. In particular, themethod may include receiving first biometric data and/or a firstmovement signature from a first wearable device worn by a first user.Additionally, the method may include determining, based on the firstbiometric data received from the first wearable device worn by the firstuser, if the first biometric data matches second biometric dataassociated with a plan for connectivity services provided by a serviceprovider. The method may also include determining, based on the firstmovement signature received from the first wearable device, if the firstmovement signature matches a second movement signature associated withthe plan. If the first biometric data matches the second biometric dataand/or if the first movement signature matches the second movementsignature, the method may include authenticating the first user and thefirst wearable device worn by the first user for access to theconnectivity services. After authenticating the first user and the firstwearable device, the method may include provisioning the connectivityservices for the first wearable device. The method may then includedelivering, to the first wearable device, predefined settingsestablished for the first wearable device in the plan for theconnectivity services. Finally, the method may include delivering, tothe first wearable device, a communication sent to a primary device ofthe first user.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer-readable device havinginstructions for providing wearable authentication and management isprovided. The computer instructions, which when loaded and executed by aprocessor, may cause the processor to perform operations including:receiving first biometric data from a first wearable device worn by afirst user; determining, based on the first biometric data received fromthe first wearable device worn by the first user, if the first biometricdata matches second biometric data associated with a plan forconnectivity services provided by a service provider; authenticating, ifthe first biometric data matches the second biometric data, the firstuser and the first wearable device worn by the first user for access tothe connectivity services; provisioning, after authenticating the firstuser and the first wearable device, the connectivity services for thefirst wearable device; delivering, to the first wearable device,predefined settings established for the first wearable device in theplan for the connectivity services; and delivering, to the firstwearable device, a communication sent to a primary device of the firstuser.

These and other features of the systems and methods for providingwearable authentication and management are described in the followingdetailed description, drawings, and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for providing wearableauthentication and management according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a sample method for providingwearable authentication and management according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a machine in the form of a computersystem within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies or operations ofthe systems and methods for providing wearable authentication andmanagement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A system 100 and accompanying methods for providing wearableauthentication and management are disclosed. In particular, the system100 and methods may allow for the identification and authentication ofusers (e.g. first and second users 101, 115) through the use ofbiometric data, movement signatures, and/or other authenticationinformation specific to a user of a user device, such as a wearabledevice (e.g. first, second, third, and/or fourth user devices 102, 106,110, 116). Based on the authentication, the system 100 and methods maydeliver a number of different capabilities, experiences, and services tothe user and/or the user device. In order to accomplish the foregoing,the system 100 and methods may involve receiving biometric data, amovement signature, and/or other authentication information from awearable device worn by a user. The system 100 and methods may includeanalyzing the biometric data, movement signature, and/or authenticationinformation to determine if they match biometric data, a movementsignature and/or authentication information associated with a plan forconnectivity services. If the biometric data, movement signature, and/orauthentication information do not match the biometric data, the movementsignature, and/or the authentication information associated with theplan, the system 100 and methods may prevent the wearable device frombeing authenticated and from being provisioned with the connectivityservices associated with the plan.

If, however, the received biometric data, movement signature, and/orauthentication information do match the biometric data, the movementsignature, and/or the authentication information associated with theplan, the system 100 and methods may include authenticating the user andthe wearable device worn by the user. Once the user and wearable deviceare authenticated, the system 100 and methods may include activating andprovisioning wireless connectivity for the wearable device andassociating the device with the various services under the plan. Incertain embodiments, the wearable device may be joined to a deviceecosystem 114 formed by the devices already serviced under the plan. Thesystem 100 and methods may also include delivering predefined settingstailored to the wearable device, and delivering communications that aresent to other devices in the device ecosystem 114 also to the wearabledevice. In certain embodiments, the system 100 and methods may providefor additional levels of authentication so as to allow the wearabledevice to securely access the user's connected home, bank accounts,office buildings, hotels, vehicles, devices, and/or programs. In certainembodiments, the system 100 and methods may allow the wearable device tobe automatically granted access to participate in high-securitytransactions based on the authentication.

If the user ceases to wear the wearable device or does not utilize thewearable device for a threshold period of time, the system 100 andmethods may include deactivating the connectivity services that wereprovisioned for the wearable device. Additionally, the system 100 andmethods may include removing the predefined settings pushed to thewearable device after authentication. Furthermore, the system 100 andmethods may also include removing any data and content provided to thewearable device while the wearable device was being worn by the user. Incertain embodiments, the system 100 and methods may include providingnotifications of unauthorized usage if the wearable device is notauthenticated or the wearable device is stolen or otherwise compromised.In such embodiments, the system 100 and methods may include tracking andmonitoring the wearable device. In additional embodiments, the system100 and methods may include transmitting notifications to the userassociated with the plan if the wearable device (or other device) hasnot been utilized for a selected period of time. In such a scenario, thesystem 100 and methods may enable the user to terminate any servicesbeing provided to the wearable device (or other device).

Notably, the system 100 and methods may enable users to have multipledevices without having to maintain an individual connection for eachdevice in the users' device ecosystems. Additionally, in certainembodiments, the system 100 and methods may more efficiently utilizenetwork resources by only creating a connection for a device while it isbeing worn. The system 100 and methods may provide for a seamlessexperience allowing for connectivity to connected wearable deviceswithout the need to provision or establish a connection for each use.The system 100 and methods also allow for highly secure authenticationallowing users to protect what is important to them, and also ensureproper access by an enterprise. Furthermore, the system 100 and methodsallow users to better manage the number of active devices on their planand quickly understand which devices have been inactive for a givenperiod of time. As a result, the system 100 and methods allow forgreater conservation of network resources, improved user satisfaction,increased authentication and security, increased ease-of-use, andsubstantial cost savings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a system 100 for providing wearable authenticationand management is disclosed. The system 100 may be configured tosupport, but is not limited to supporting, content delivery services,cloud computing services, authentication services, IoT services, IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS) services, satellite services, telephoneservices, voice-over-internet protocol services (VoIP),voice-over-long-term-evolution (VoLTE) services, software as a service(SaaS) applications, gaming applications and services, social mediaapplications and services, operations management applications andservices, productivity applications and services, mobile applicationsand services, connected vehicle applications and services, connectedhome applications and services, and any other computing applications andservices. The system may include a first user 101, who may utilize afirst user device 102 to access data, content, and services, or toperform a variety of other tasks and functions. As an example, the firstuser 101 may utilize first user device 102 to transmit signals to accessvarious online services and content, such as those provided by a contentprovider or service provider associated with communications network 135.In certain embodiments, the first user 101 may be a subscriber of aservice provider that controls communications network 135.

The first user device 102 may include a memory 103 that includesinstructions, and a processor 104 that executes the instructions fromthe memory 103 to perform the various operations that are performed bythe first user device 102. In certain embodiments, the processor 104 maybe hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The first user device102 may also include an interface that may enable the first user 101 tointeract with various applications executing on the first user device102 and to interact with the system 100. Furthermore, the first userdevice 102 may include one or more sensors and may include anaccelerometer 105, which may be configured to measure a rate ofacceleration associated with movements made by the first user 101 and/orthe first user device 102. In certain embodiments, accelerometer 105 maybe utilized to obtain acceleration and movement measurements that may beutilized to determine the first user's 101 movement signature. Themovement signature may indicate a walking pattern, a gait pattern, amovement pattern, or a combination thereof of the first user 101. Thefirst user device 102 may also include gyroscopes (i.e. to measureorientation), global positioning system (GPS) devices (i.e. to determinelocation), motion sensors, temperature sensors, proximity sensors (i.e.to determine proximity to other devices in the system 100, to aparticular location, and/or to the first user 101), light sensors,acoustic sensors, tilt sensors, and/or other sensors as well. In certainembodiments, the first user device 102 may be a wearable device, acomputer, a laptop, a set-top-box, a tablet device, a phablet, a server,a mobile device, a smartphone, a smart watch, and/or any other type ofcomputing device. Illustratively, the first user device 102 is shown asa smartphone device in FIG. 1.

In addition to using first user device 102, the first user 101 may alsoutilize a second user device 106 and a third user device 110. As withfirst user device 102, the first user 101 may utilize the second andthird user devices 106, 110 to transmit signals to access various onlineservices and content, such as those provided by a content provider orservice provider associated with communications network 135. The seconduser device 106 may include a memory 107 that includes instructions, anda processor 108 that executes the instructions from the memory 107 toperform the various operations that are performed by the second userdevice 106. In certain embodiments, the processor 108 may be hardware,software, or a combination thereof. The second user device 106 may alsoinclude an interface that may enable the first user 101 to interact withvarious applications executing on the second user device 106 and tointeract with the system 100. Furthermore, the second user device 106may include one or more sensors and may include an accelerometer 109,which may be configured to measure a rate of acceleration associatedwith movements made by the first user 101 and/or the second user device106. In certain embodiments, accelerometer 109 may be utilized to obtainacceleration and movement measurements that may be utilized to determinethe first user's 101 movement signature. The second user device 106 mayalso include gyroscopes (i.e. to measure orientation), GPS devices (i.e.to determine location), motion sensors, temperature sensors, proximitysensors (i.e. to determine proximity to other devices in the system 100,to a particular location, and/or to the first user 101), light sensors,acoustic sensors, tilt sensors, and/or other sensors as well. In certainembodiments, the second user device 106 may be a wearable device, acomputer, a laptop, a set-top-box, a tablet device, a phablet, a server,a mobile device, a smartphone, a smart watch, and/or any other type ofcomputing device. Illustratively, the second user device 106 is shown asa smart watch device in FIG. 1.

The third user device 110 may include a memory 111 that includesinstructions, and a processor 112 that executes the instructions fromthe memory 111 to perform the various operations that are performed bythe third user device 110. In certain embodiments, the processor 112 maybe hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The third user device110 may also include an interface that may enable the first user 101 tointeract with various applications executing on the third user device110 and to interact with the system 100. Furthermore, the third userdevice 110 may include one or more sensors and may include anaccelerometer 113, which may be configured to measure a rate ofacceleration associated with movements made by the first user 101 and/orthe third user device 110. In certain embodiments, accelerometer 113 maybe utilized to obtain acceleration and movement measurements that may beutilized to determine the first user's 101 movement signature. The thirduser device 110 may also include gyroscopes (i.e. to measureorientation), GPS devices (i.e. to determine location), motion sensors,temperature sensors, proximity sensors (i.e. to determine proximity toother devices in the system 100, to a particular location, and/or to thefirst user 101), light sensors, acoustic sensors, tilt sensors, and/orother sensors as well. In certain embodiments, the third user device 110may be a wearable device, a computer, a laptop, a set-top-box, a tabletdevice, a phablet, a server, a mobile device, a smartphone, a smartwatch, and/or any other type of computing device. Illustratively, thethird user device 110 is shown as a tablet device in FIG. 1.

The first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110 may belong toand/or form a device ecosystem 114. In certain embodiments, the deviceecosystem 114 may be a unique network that enables the devices withinthe device ecosystem 114 to share communications, exchange data andcontent, and be communicatively linked. In certain embodiments, thedevice ecosystem 114 may be formed between the first, second, and thirduser devices 102, 106, 110 through the use of any type of wirelessprotocol and/or technology, such as IoT technologies. Devices in thedevice ecosystem 114 may be authenticated with each other and may enablethe devices within the device ecosystem 114 to share connectivityservices, such as, but not limited to, internet connections andservices, cellular connections and services, and/or other types ofconnections and services. For example, the first, second, and third userdevices 102, 106, 110 may communicate with one another in the deviceecosystem 114 by utilizing IoT technologies, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE),classic Bluetooth, ZigBee, cellular, near-field communications (NFC),Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, ANT+, IEEE 802.15.4, IEEE 802.22, ISA100a, infrared(IrDA), ISM band, radio frequency identification (RFID), UWB, WirelessHD, Wireless USB, any other protocol and/or wireless technology, or anycombination thereof.

As indicated above, the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106,110 within the device ecosystem 114 may share and exchange data witheach other via the device ecosystem 114. For example, the first, second,and third user devices 102, 106, 110 may share information relating tothe various components of the first, second, and third user devices 102,106, 110, information identifying the first, second, and third userdevices' 102, 106, 110 locations, information identifying the first,second, and third user devices' 102, 106, 110 power levels, informationidentifying the types of connections utilized by the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 110, information identifying theapplications being utilized on the first, second, and third user devices102, 106, 110, information identifying how the first, second, and thirduser devices 102, 106, 110 are being utilized by the first user 101,information identifying whether the first, second, and third userdevices 102, 106, 110 are moving and in what direction, informationidentifying an orientation of the first, second, and third user devices102, 106, 110, information identifying whether the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 110 have been stolen, informationidentifying which user (e.g. first user 101, second user 115, or both)is logged into the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110,information identifying user profiles for users of the first, second,and third user devices 102, 106, 110, information identifying deviceprofiles for the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110,information identifying the number of devices in the device ecosystem114, information identifying devices being added to or removed from thedevice ecosystem 114, any information obtained from any sensor of thefirst, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110, any otherinformation, or any combination thereof.

Information obtained from the sensors of the first, second, and thirduser devices 102, 106, 110 may include, but is not limited to,temperature measurements from temperature sensors of the first, second,and third user devices 102, 106, 110, light measurements from lightsensors of the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110,sound measurements from acoustic sensors of the first, second, and thirduser devices 102, 106, 110, vibration measurements from vibrationsensors of the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110,global positioning information from GPS devices of the first, second,and third user devices 102, 106, 110, proximity information fromproximity sensors of the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106,110, motion information from motion sensors of the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 110, presence information from presencesensors of the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110,heart rate information from heart rate sensors of the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 110, orientation information fromgyroscopes of the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110,tilt information from tilt sensors of the first, second, and third userdevices 102, 106, 110, acceleration information from accelerometers ofthe first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 110, informationfrom any other sensors, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, information from the sensors of the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 110 may be transmitted via one or moresignals to each other and to the components of the system 100.

In addition to the first user 101, the system 100 may also include asecond user 115, who may utilize a fourth user device 116 to perform avariety of functions. For example, the fourth user device 116 may beutilized by the second user 115 to transmit signals to request varioustypes of content, services, and data provided by content and serviceproviders associated with the communications network 135 or any othernetwork in the system 100. The fourth user device 116 may include amemory 117 that includes instructions, and a processor 118 that executesthe instructions from the memory 117 to perform the various operationsthat are performed by the fourth user device 116. In certainembodiments, the processor 118 may be hardware, software, or acombination thereof. The fourth user device 116 may also include aninterface that may enable the second user 115 to interact with variousapplications executing on the fourth user device 116 and to interactwith the system 100. Furthermore, the fourth user device 116 may includeone or more sensors and may include an accelerometer 119, which may beconfigured to measure a rate of acceleration associated with movementsmade by the second user 115 and/or the fourth user device 116. Incertain embodiments, accelerometer 119 may be utilized to obtainacceleration and movement measurements that may be utilized to determinethe second user's 115 movement signature. The fourth user device 116 mayalso include gyroscopes (i.e. to measure orientation), GPS devices (i.e.to determine location), motion sensors, temperature sensors, proximitysensors (i.e. to determine proximity to other devices in the system 100,to a particular location, and/or to the second user 115), light sensors,acoustic sensors, tilt sensors, and/or other sensors as well In certainembodiments, the fourth user device 116 may be a wearable device, acomputer, a laptop, a set-top-box, a tablet device, a phablet, a server,a mobile device, a smartphone, a smart watch, and/or any other type ofcomputing device. Illustratively, the fourth user device 116 is shown asa smartphone device in FIG. 1.

In certain embodiments, the first user device 102, the second userdevice 106, the third user device 110, and/or the fourth user device 116may have any number of software applications and/or application servicesstored and/or accessible thereon. For example, the first, second, third,and fourth user devices 102, 106, 110, 116 may include cloud-basedapplications, VoIP applications, phone-based applications,product-ordering applications, business applications, e-commerceapplications, media streaming applications, content-based applications,media-editing applications, database applications, gaming applications,internet-based applications, browser applications, mobile applications,service-based applications, productivity applications, videoapplications, music applications, social media applications, any othertype of applications, any types of application services, or acombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the software applicationsand services may include one or more graphical user interfaces so as toenable the first and second users 101, 115 to readily interact with thesoftware applications. The software applications and services may alsobe utilized by the first and second users 101, 115 to interact with anydevice in the system 100, any network in the system 100, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the first, second, third,and fourth user devices 102, 106, 110, 116 may include associatedtelephone numbers, device identities, or any other identifiers touniquely identify the first, second, third, and fourth user devices 102,106, 110, 116.

The system 100 may also include a communications network 135. Thecommunications network 135 of the system 100 may be configured to linkeach of the devices in the system 100 to one another. For example, thecommunications network 135 may be utilized by the first user device 102to connect with other devices within or outside communications network135. Additionally, the communications network 135 may be configured totransmit, generate, and receive any information and data traversing thesystem 100. In certain embodiments, the communications network 135 mayinclude any number of servers, databases, or other componentry, and maybe controlled by a service provider. The communications network 135 mayalso include and be connected to a cloud-computing network, an IMSnetwork, a VoIP network, a VoLTE network, a wireless network, anEthernet network, a satellite network, a broadband network, a cellularnetwork, a private network, a cable network, the Internet, an internetprotocol network, a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network, acontent distribution network, any network, or any combination thereof.Illustratively, servers 140, 145, and 150 are shown as being includedwithin communications network 135. In certain embodiments, thecommunications network 135 may be part of a single autonomous systemthat is located in a particular geographic region, or be part ofmultiple autonomous systems that span several geographic regions.

Notably, the functionality of the system 100 may be supported andexecuted by using any combination of the servers 140, 145, 150, and 160.The servers 140, 145, and 150 may reside in communications network 135,however, in certain embodiments, the servers 140, 145, 150 may resideoutside communications network 135. The server 140 may serve as anetwork provisioning server that may be configured to provision varioustypes of connectivity services to any device in the system 100. Theserver 145 may be a profile server that may be configured to store,transmit, and/or receive the user profiles as described herein. Theserver 150 may be a platform server that may be configured to forwardcommunications and calls intended for a certain device to other devicesthat are authenticated to the device ecosystem 114 that the certaindevice is a member of. In certain embodiments, the server 140 mayinclude a memory 141 that includes instructions, and a processor 142that executes the instructions from the memory 141 to perform variousoperations that are performed by the server 140. The processor 142 maybe hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Similarly, the server145 may include a memory 146 that includes instructions, and a processor147 that executes the instructions from the memory 146 to perform thevarious operations that are performed by the server 145. Furthermore,the server 150 may include a memory 151 that includes instructions, anda processor 152 that executes the instructions from the memory 151 toperform the various operations that are performed by the server 150. Incertain embodiments, the servers 140, 145, 150, and 160 may be networkservers, routers, gateways, switches, media distribution hubs, signaltransfer points, service control points, service switching points,firewalls, routers, edge devices, nodes, computers, mobile devices, orany other suitable computing device, or any combination thereof. Incertain embodiments, the servers 140, 145, 150 may be communicativelylinked to the communications network 135, the device ecosystem 114, thecommunications network 165, any network, any device in the system 100,or any combination thereof.

The database 155 of the system 100 may be utilized to store and relayinformation that traverses the system 100, cache content that traversesthe system 100, store data about each of the devices in the system 100and perform any other typical functions of a database. In certainembodiments, the database 155 may be connected to or reside within thecommunications network 135, the device ecosystem 114, the communicationsnetwork 165, any other network, or a combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the database 155 may serve as a central repository for anyinformation associated with any of the devices and informationassociated with the system 100. Furthermore, the database 155 mayinclude a processor and memory or be connected to a processor and memoryto perform the various operation associated with the database 155. Incertain embodiments, the database 155 may be connected to the servers140, 145, 150, 160, 170, the first user device 102, the second userdevice 106, the third user device 110, the fourth user device 116, thevehicle 175, the home 178, the hotel 180, the shop 182, the bank 184,the entity 186, any devices in the system 100, any other device, anynetwork, or any combination thereof.

The database 155 may also store information and metadata obtained fromthe system 100; store metadata and other information associated with thefirst and second users 101, 115; store user profiles associated with thefirst and second users 101, 115; store device profiles associated withany device in the system 100; store communications traversing the system100; store user preferences; store information associated with anydevice or signal in the system 100; store information relating topatterns of usage relating to the first, second, third, and fourth userdevices 102, 106, 110, 116; store any information obtained from any ofthe networks in the system 100; store historical data associated withthe first and second users 101, 115; store device characteristics forany of the devices in the system 100; store information relating to anydevices associated with the first and second users 101, 115; store anyinformation associated with the vehicle 175, the home 178, the hotel180, the shop 182, the bank 184, and/or the entity 186; store biometricinformation associated with the first and second users 101, 115; storemovement signatures for the first and second users 101, 115; storepasswords, log on sequences, and/or authentication information for thefirst and second users 101, 115 and/or any of the devices in the system100; store information associated with the device ecosystem 114; storetracking information indicating the location of the first, second,third, and fourth user devices 102, 106, 110, 116; store time thresholdsthat trigger the deactivation of connectivity services for the first,second, third, and fourth user devices 102, 106, 110, 116; store listsidentifying the devices authorized or unauthorized to be included withindevice ecosystems 114; store predefined settings to be pushed to thefirst, second, third, and/or fourth user devices 102, 106, 110, 116based on the capabilities of each of the devices and/or preferences ofthe first and second users 101, 115; store any information generatedand/or processed by the system 100; store any of the informationdisclosed for any of the operations and functions disclosed for thesystem 100 herewith; store any information traversing the system 100, orany combination thereof. Furthermore, the database 155 may be configuredto process queries sent to it by any device in the system 100.

The system 100 may also include a communications network 165. Thecommunications network 165 of the system 100 may be configured to linkeach of the devices in the system 100 to one another and to thecommunications network 135. Additionally, the communications network 165may be configured to transmit, generate, and receive any information anddata traversing the system 100. In certain embodiments, thecommunications network 165 may include any number of servers, databases,or other componentry, and may be controlled by a service provider. Thecommunications network 165 may also include and be connected to acloud-computing network, an IMS network, a VoIP network, a VoLTEnetwork, a wireless network, an Ethernet network, a satellite network, abroadband network, a cellular network, a private network, a cablenetwork, the Internet, an internet protocol network, a MPLS network, acontent distribution network, any network, or any combination thereof.Illustratively, server 170 is shown as being included withincommunications network 165. In certain embodiments, the communicationsnetwork 165 may be part of a single autonomous system that is located ina particular geographic region, or be part of multiple autonomoussystems that span several geographic regions.

Notably, the functionality of the communications network 165 and thesystem 100 may be supported and executed by utilizing the server 170.The server 170 may reside in communications network 165, however, incertain embodiments, the server 170 may reside outside communicationsnetwork 165. The server 165 may serve as an authentication server thatmay be configured to analyze biometric data, movement signatures,passwords, log on sequences, or other authentication information todetermine if a particular device and/or user is authorized to be a partof the device ecosystem 114, is authorized to be provisioned withcertain types of connectivity services, and/or is authorized fortransactions and/or communications with third parties (e.g. with thevehicle 175, the home 178, the hotel 180, the shop 182, the bank 184,and/or the entity 186). In certain embodiments, the server 170 mayinclude a memory 171 that includes instructions, and a processor 172that executes the instructions from the memory 171 to perform variousoperations that are performed by the server 170. The processor 172 maybe hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments,the server 170 may be a network server, a router, a gateway, a switch, amedia distribution hub, a signal transfer point, a service controlpoint, s service switching point, a firewall, an edge device, a node, acomputer, a mobile device, or any other suitable computing device, orany combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the server 170 may becommunicatively linked to the communications network 135, the deviceecosystem 114, the communications network 165, any network, any devicein the system 100, or any combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may include a vehicle 175, whichmay be any type of mobile connected device, such as an unmanned mobileconnected vehicle (e.g. autonomous vehicle), a passenger vehicle, anyother type of vehicle, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the system 100 may include any number of vehicles 175, andthe vehicle 175 may be a car, a truck, a train, a plane, a boat, a ship,a trolley, a motorcycle, a bike, any type of vehicle, any type of movingdevice, or any combination thereof. The vehicle 175 may include a memory176 that includes instructions, and a processor 177 that executes theinstructions from the memory 176 to perform the various operations thatare performed by the vehicle 175. In certain embodiments, the processor177 may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The varioussystems, features, and functionality of the vehicle 125 may becontrolled by the system 100 and/or the communications network 135. Incertain embodiments, the vehicle 175 may be configured to join thedevice ecosystem 114, share communications with the devices in thedevice ecosystem 114, share connectivity services with the devices inthe device ecosystem 114, share settings with the devices in the deviceecosystem 114, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, if adevice is authenticated to be a part of the device ecosystem 114, thedevice may be granted automatic access to the features and functionalityof the vehicle 175. In certain embodiments, an authenticated device maybe authorized to have automatic authorization to participate incommunications and certain classes of transactions (e.g. e-commercetransactions) with the vehicle 175.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may also include a connected home178, which may be configured to include smart locks, smart mediacenters, smart thermostats, and IoT devices that may be utilized toprovide the various features and functionality of the connected home178. In certain embodiments, the connected home 178 may be configured tojoin the device ecosystem 114, share communications with the devices inthe device ecosystem 114, share connectivity services with the devicesin the device ecosystem 114, share settings with the devices in thedevice ecosystem 114, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, if a device is authenticated to be a part of the deviceecosystem 114, the device may be granted automatic access to thefeatures and functionality of the connected home 178. In certainembodiments, an authenticated device may be authorized to have automaticauthorization to participate in communications and certain classes oftransactions (e.g. e-commerce transactions or other transactions) withthe connected home 178. In certain embodiments, an authenticated devicemay be granted automatic access to any of the devices in the connectedhome 178. For example, an authenticated device may unlock a lock of theconnected home 178, activate or deactivate the media center of theconnected home 178, activate, adjust, or deactivate a smart thermostatof the connected home 178, or any combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may include a connected hotel180, which may be configured to include various devices, such as IoTdevices, that may be utilized to provide the various features andfunctionality of the connected hotel 180. In certain embodiments, theconnected hotel 180 may be configured to join the device ecosystem 114,share communications with the devices in the device ecosystem 114, shareconnectivity services with the devices in the device ecosystem 114,share settings with the devices in the device ecosystem 114, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, if a device isauthenticated to be a part of the device ecosystem 114, the device maybe granted automatic access to the features and functionality of theconnected hotel 180. In certain embodiments, an authenticated device maybe authorized to have automatic authorization to participate incommunications and certain classes of transactions (e.g. e-commercetransactions for setting a reservation or purchasing services orproducts) with the connected hotel 180. In certain embodiments, anauthenticated device may be granted automatic access to any of thedevices in the connected hotel 180. For example, an authenticated devicemay be configured to unlock a hotel room that was reserved by the firstuser 101.

The system 100 may include a connected shop 182, which may be configuredto include various devices, such as IoT devices, that may be utilized toprovide the various features and functionality of the connected shop182. In certain embodiments, the connected shop 182 may be configured tojoin the device ecosystem 114, share communications with the devices inthe device ecosystem 114, share connectivity services with the devicesin the device ecosystem 114, share settings with the devices in thedevice ecosystem 114, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, if a device is authenticated to be a part of the deviceecosystem 114, the device may be granted automatic access to thefeatures and functionality of the connected shop 182. In certainembodiments, an authenticated device may be authorized to have automaticauthorization to participate in communications and certain classes oftransactions (e.g. transactions for purchasing products) with theconnected shop 182. In certain embodiments, an authenticated device maybe granted automatic access to any of the devices in the connected shop182. For example, an authenticated device may be configured toautomatically pair with a beacon of the connected shop 182 that may beconfigured to transmit product details and information to theauthenticated device.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may include a connected bank 184,which may be configured to include various devices, such as IoT devices,that may be utilized to provide the various features and functionalityof the connected bank 184. In certain embodiments, the connected bank184 may be configured to join the device ecosystem 114, sharecommunications with the devices in the device ecosystem 114, shareconnectivity services with the devices in the device ecosystem 114,share settings with the devices in the device ecosystem 114, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, if a device isauthenticated to be a part of the device ecosystem 114, the device maybe granted automatic access to the features and functionality of theconnected bank 184. In certain embodiments, an authenticated device maybe authorized to have automatic authorization to participate incommunications and certain classes of transactions (e.g. transactionsfor establishing bank accounts, purchasing investments, withdrawing ordepositing funds, etc.) with the connected bank 184. In certainembodiments, an authenticated device may be granted automatic access toany of the devices in the connected bank 184. For example, anauthenticated device may be configured to automatically unlock a safetydeposit box at the bank 184.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may include an entity 186, whichmay be a web-based entity, a device, a software program, a softwareprocess, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the entity186 may be configured to join the device ecosystem 114, sharecommunications with the devices in the device ecosystem 114, shareconnectivity services with the devices in the device ecosystem 114,share settings with the devices in the device ecosystem 114, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, if a device isauthenticated to be a part of the device ecosystem 114, the device maybe granted automatic access to the features and functionality of theentity 186. In certain embodiments, an authenticated device may beauthorized to have automatic authorization to participate incommunications and certain classes of transactions (e.g. e-commercetransactions, calls, text messages, log-in processes) with the entity186. For example, if entity 186 is a gaming website, an authenticateddevice may be automatically log into a game supported by the gamingwebsite.

Operatively, the system 100 may provide for wearable authentication andmanagement, as shown in the following exemplary scenario. In thisexample scenario, there may be a first user 101 that may have asmartphone (i.e. first user device 102), a smart watch (i.e. second userdevice 106), and a tablet (i.e. third user device 110). There may alsobe a second user 115 that may have a wearable smartphone (i.e. fourthuser device 116). The first user 101 may subscribe to a wirelessconnectivity plan with a service provider associated with communicationsnetwork 135 and/or communications network 165. The first user 101 mayenroll the smartphone, the smart watch, and the tablet into the wirelessconnectivity plan. The smartphone and the tablet may initially belong toa device ecosystem 114, which may allow each of the devices in thedevice ecosystem to share information, content, data, and communicationswith each other. Additionally, the first user 101 may authorize one ormore other users who may borrow the first user's 101 devices and/orutilize their own devices under the plan. The authorized users may bespecified in a list of authorized users, which may be stored in a userprofile of the first user 101. The first user 101 may authorize thesecond user 115 to utilize connectivity services subscribed to by thefirst user 101 under the plan.

In addition to specifying authorized users, the first user 101 mayestablish desired settings to be pushed to each device that isauthorized by the system 100, such as to a device authorized to join thedevice ecosystem 114. The settings may indicate the amount of bandwidthassociated with the connectivity services that a device should beauthorized to receive and/or use, whether certain notifications shouldbe turned off or on for a particular device, whether a certain deviceshould be authorized to make calls, whether a certain device may send orreceive text messages and/or instant messages, whether a certain devicemay make roaming calls, whether a certain device can access a certaintype of application, whether a certain device may access the vehicle175, whether a certain device may access a connected home 178, whether adevice may access an account associated with hotel 180, whether acertain device may make e-commerce transactions with shop 182, whether acertain device may access a bank account associated with bank 184,whether a certain device may access an account associated with entity186, whether there is automatic authorization to participate in certainclasses of transactions with third parties, any other possible setting,or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the settings may beadjusted based on the capabilities and technical specifications of thedevice.

The first user 101 may put on the smart watch, which may prompt thefirst user 101 for authentication information to access the connectivityservices under the plan, such as via an application of the smart watch.Authentication information may be a biometric input that may be receivedvia the smart watch of the first user 101. The biometric input, forexample, may include a heart rate, a fingerprint, an iris scan, anyother biometric input, or any combination thereof. For example, thesmart watch may have a fingerprint scanner or a heart rate sensor toobtain the biometric input from the first user 101. Additionally,another type of authentication input may be a movement signature. Anaccelerometer 109 of the smart watch may also measure the movements ofthe first user 101, which may be utilized to generate a movementsignature of the first user 101. The movement signature, for example,may be a walking style, gait, or other movement that is unique to thefirst user 101. Furthermore, the smart watch may also be configured toreceive other authentication information, such as a one-time password,which may be input via an application executing on the smart watch.Whether a biometric input, movement signature input, or otherauthentication input is needed may be determined based on what isspecified by the system 100, in the plan, and/or in a user profile ofthe first user 101. In certain embodiments, the system 100 may requireone of a biometric input, a movement signature, or a password. Incertain embodiments, the system 100 may require certain combinations ofthe aforementioned inputs to gain access to the connectivity servicesunder the plan.

Once the biometric input, movement signature, and/or otherauthentication information are received from the smart watch, the smartwatch may deliver the inputs to the server 170, which may be anauthentication server of communications network 165. The server 170 mayanalyze the biometric input, movement signature, and/or otherauthentication information received from the smart watch to determine ifthey match stored biometric input, movement signature, and/or otherauthentication information contained in a user profile associated withthe plan. If the inputs do not match the stored authenticationinformation, the system 100 may block the wearable device from joiningthe device ecosystem 114, from being provisioned with connectivityservices under the plan, or a combination thereof. However, if theinputs do match the stored authentication information, the server 170may authenticate the first user 101 and the smart watch. In certainembodiments, once the first user 101 and the smart watch areauthenticated, wireless connectivity may be activated for the smartwatch and the smart watch may be provisioned with connectivity servicesunder the plan, such as by utilizing the servers in communicationsnetwork 135. Also, the smart watch may be joined to the device ecosystem114 with the smartphone and tablet. Additionally, any predefinedsettings specified for the smart watch may be pushed to the smart watchby the servers in the communications network 135. For example, thesettings may obtained from a user profile of the first user 101 thatspecifies the settings, and then the settings may be pushed to the smartwatch. The settings pushed to the smart watch may cause the smart watchto operate under the conditions of the settings.

Once the smart watch is authenticated, the connectivity services areactivated for the smart watch, and the settings are pushed to the smartwatch, the system 100 may allow one or more communications to bedelivered to the smart watch. For example, an incoming call to thesmartphone may be forwarded to the smart watch for the first user 101 toanswer. Similarly, a text message, email, instant message, or othercommunication sent to the tablet or smartphone may also be sent to thesmart watch. Each of the devices in the device ecosystem 114 may sharecommunications with each other while each of the devices and/or thefirst user 101 are authenticated. Additionally, based on theauthentication, the smart watch may be pre-authorized to access featuresand functionality of the vehicle 175, the connected home 178, the hotel180, the shop 182, the bank 184, and/or the entity 186. Furthermore, thesmart watch may also be pre-authorized to conduct certain types oftransactions with third parties, such as, but not limited to, thevehicle 175, the connected home 178, the hotel 180, the shop 182, thebank 184, and/or the entity 186 based on the authentication. Forexample, the smart watch may be pre-authorized to conduct an e-commercetransaction with the shop 182.

If, however, the first user 101 stops wearing the smart watch and/ordoes not utilize the smart watch for a threshold period of timespecified under the plan, the system 100 may deactivate the wirelessconnectivity services to the smart watch and delete any settings pushedto the smart watch. Additionally, any content and data obtained by thesmart watch while the smart watch was authenticated may be optionallydeleted or removed as well. Furthermore, any authorization to conducttransactions with third parties may also be removed. In certainembodiments, when the first user 101 stops wearing the smart watchand/or does not utilize the smart watch for the threshold period oftime, the system 100 may relegate the smart watch to the communicationsnetwork 165 until the smart watch is authenticated again. In such ascenario, the communications network 165 may serve as a walled gardenthat may block the smart watch from accessing the device ecosystem 114,the connectivity services under the plan, from receiving communicationsassociated with the devices in the device ecosystem 114, or acombination thereof. If the first user 101 starts using the smart watchagain and/or wears the smart watch again, the smart watch and the firstuser 101 may be authenticated again after authentication information isprovided by the first user 101 a second time. In certain embodiments,the same process described above may be repeated for the second user 115using the wearable smartphone. The first user 101 may indicate in thefirst user's 101 profile that the second user 115 is authorized toaccess connectivity services under the plan and/or join the deviceecosystem 114. If the second user 115 effectively authenticates, thesystem 100 may allow the wearable smartphone to exchange data andcommunications with the devices in the device ecosystem 114.

Notably, as shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may perform any of theoperative functions disclosed herein by utilizing the processingcapabilities of server 160, the storage capacity of the database 155, orany other component of the system 100 to perform the operative functionsdisclosed herein. The server 160 may include one or more processors 162that may be configured to process any of the various functions of thesystem 100. The processors 162 may be software, hardware, or acombination of hardware and software. Additionally, the server 160 mayalso include a memory 161, which stores instructions that the processors162 may execute to perform various operations of the system 100. Forexample, the server 160 may assist in processing loads handled by thevarious devices in the system 100, such as, but not limited to,receiving biometric data, a movement signature, and/or authenticationinformation from a wearable device (e.g. first, second, third, and/orfourth user devices 102, 106, 110, 116) worn by a user; determining ifthe received biometric data, the movement signature, and/or theauthentication information matches biometric data, movement signatures,and/or authentication information associated with a plan forconnectivity services; preventing a wearable device from beingprovisioned with the connectivity services associated with the plan ifthe received biometric data, movement signature, and/or authenticationdoes not match the information associated with the plan; authenticatingthe user wearing the wearable device and the user himself; provisioningconnectivity services to the authenticated wearable device; deliveringpredefined settings to the wearable device; delivering communications tothe wearable device that are sent to a primary device of the user;determining if the wearable device is still being worn by the user;deactivating the connectivity services from the wearable device if thewearable device is removed and/or removing the predefined settings; andperforming any other suitable operations conducted in the system 100 orotherwise. In one embodiment, multiple servers 160 may be utilized toprocess the functions of the system 100. The server 160 and otherdevices in the system 100, may utilize the database 155 for storing dataabout the devices in the system 100 or any other information that isassociated with the system 100. In one embodiment, multiple databases155 may be utilized to store data in the system 100.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates a specific example configuration of thevarious components of the system 100, the system 100 may include anyconfiguration of the components, which may include using a greater orlesser number of the components. For example, the system 100 isillustratively shown as including a first user device 102, a second userdevice 106, a third user device 110, a fourth user device 116, a deviceecosystem 114, a communications network 135, a server 140, a server 145,a server 150, a server 160, a database 155, a communications network165, and a server 170. However, the system 100 may include multiplefirst user devices 102, multiple second user devices 106, multiple thirduser devices 110, multiple fourth user devices 116, multiple deviceecosystems 114, multiple communications networks 135, multiple servers140, multiple servers 145, multiple servers 150, multiple servers 160,multiple databases 155, multiple communications networks 165, multipleservers 170, or any number of any of the other components inside oroutside the system 100. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, substantialportions of the functionality and operations of the system 100 may beperformed by other networks and systems that may be connected to system100.

As shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary method 200 for providing wearableauthentication and management is schematically illustrated. The method200 may include steps for authenticating a user and a wearable device ofthe user so as to enable the wearable device to join a device ecosystem114 and share in connectivity services, communications, and otherservices associated with the device ecosystem 114. The method 200 mayinclude, at step 202, receiving first biometric data, a first movementsignature, and/or other authentication credentials from a first wearabledevice worn by a first user 101. For example, the first wearable devicemay be a smart watch worn by the first user 101 (e.g. second user device106). The biometric data sent may include, but is not limited to,fingerprints, palm veins, faces, DNA, palm prints, hand geometry, irisscans, retina scans, odors, voices, height information, weightinformation, body temperature information, any other biometricinformation, or any combination thereof. The movement signature may beobtained via measurements gathered by an accelerometer (e.g.accelerometer 109) of the smart watch. Authentication information mayinclude passwords, log on sequences, or other types of authenticationinformation. In certain embodiments, the receiving of the biometricdata, movement signature, and/or authentication information may beperformed by utilizing the first user device 102, the second user device106, the third user device 110, the fourth user device 116, the server140, the server 145, the server 150, the server 160, the server 170, thecommunications network 135, the communications network 165, the deviceecosystem 114, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device.

At step 204, the method 200 may include determining if the firstbiometric data, the first movement signature, and/or the otherauthentication information received from the first wearable device wornby the first user 101 match with second biometric data, a secondmovement signature, and/or authentication information associated with aplan for connectivity services. For example, if the smart watch of thefirst user 101 sent a movement signature, the method 200 may includedetermining if the movement signature sent by the smart watch matches amovement signature stored in a user profile associated with a plan forconnectivity services. In certain embodiments, the determining may beperformed by utilizing the first user device 102, the second user device106, the third user device 110, the fourth user device 116, the server140, the server 145, the server 150, the server 160, the server 170, thecommunications network 135, the communications network 165, the deviceecosystem 114, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device. If the first biometricdata, the first movement signature, and/or the other authenticationinformation received from the first wearable device worn by the firstuser 101 do not match with the second biometric data, a second movementsignature, and/or authentication information associated with the planfor connectivity services, the method 200 may include, at step 206,preventing the first wearable device from being associated with the planand preventing the first wearable device from being provisioned with theconnectivity services. In certain embodiments, the preventing may beperformed by utilizing the first user device 102, the second user device106, the third user device 110, the fourth user device 116, the server140, the server 145, the server 150, the server 160, the server 170, thecommunications network 135, the communications network 165, the deviceecosystem 114, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device.

If, however, at step 204, it is determined that the first biometricdata, the first movement signature, and/or the other authenticationinformation received from the first wearable device worn by the firstuser 101 do match with second biometric data, a second movementsignature, and/or authentication information associated with the planfor connectivity services, the method 200 may proceed to step 208. Atstep 208, the method 200 may include authenticating the first user 101and the first wearable device worn by the first user 101 for access tothe connectivity services under the plan. When authenticated, the firstwearable device may join a device ecosystem 114 associated with the planthat includes one or more devices of the first 101 and/or other users.In certain embodiments, the authentication may be performed by utilizingthe first user device 102, the second user device 106, the third userdevice 110, the fourth user device 116, the server 140, the server 145,the server 150, the server 160, the server 170, the communicationsnetwork 135, the communications network 165, the device ecosystem 114,any combination thereof, or by utilizing any other appropriate program,network, system, or device. At step 210, the method 200 may includeactivating and/or provisioning connectivity services for the firstwearable device worn by the first user 101. For example, once the smartwatch of the first user 101 is authenticated, the system 100 mayactivate and/or provision wireless connectivity for the smart watch. Incertain embodiments, the connectivity services to be provided to thewearable device may be specified in the first user's 101 user profile oreven another user's user profile. In certain embodiments, the activatingand/or provisioning may be performed by utilizing the server 140, theserver 145, the server 150, the server 160, the server 170, thecommunications network 135, the communications network 165, the deviceecosystem 114, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device.

Once the connectivity services are activated and/or provisioned for thefirst wearable device, the method 200 may include, at step 212,delivering one or more predefined settings established for the firstwearable device. For example, the first user 101 or another userassociated with the plan may have specified settings to be pushed to thesmart watch when the smart watch is worn and wireless connectivity isactivated for the smart watch. In certain embodiments, the settings maybe included within the first user's 101 user profile. In certainembodiments, the system 100 may automatically push settings to the smartwatch based on the capabilities and functionalities of the smart watchitself. As an example, the system 100 may detect the downloadcapabilities, the processing capabilities, the memory capabilities, theprogram installed on the smart watch, the technical specifications ofthe smart watch, the messaging capabilities of the smart watch, thecommunications capabilities of the smart watch, and other capabilitiesof the smart watch, and then push settings corresponding to thosecapabilities to the smart watch. In certain embodiments, the deliveringof the one or more predefined settings may be performed by utilizing theserver 140, the server 145, the server 150, the server 160, the server170, the communications network 135, the communications network 165, thedevice ecosystem 114, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device.

At step 214, the method 200 may include delivering one or morecommunications to the first wearable device that may be sent to aprimary device of the first user 101 or even another user associatedwith the connectivity plan. For example, if the first user 101 has asmartphone (e.g. first user device 102) that has a particular telephonenumber, a call or a text message sent from the second user 115 that wassent to the telephone number of the first user's 101 smartphone may bedelivered to the smart watch. Notably, this may be accomplished withoutestablishing a new phone number for the smart watch. In certainembodiments, the delivering of the one or more communications to thefirst wearable device may be performed by utilizing the first userdevice 102, the second user device 106, the third user device 110, thefourth user device 116, the server 140, the server 145, the server 150,the server 160, the server 170, the communications network 135, thecommunications network 165, the device ecosystem 114, any combinationthereof, or by utilizing any other appropriate program, network, system,or device. At step 216, the method 200 may include determining if thefirst wearable device is still being worn and/or utilized by the firstuser 101. For example, the system 100 may determine based on theaccelerometer measurements from the accelerometer of the smart watchthat the first user 101 has removed the watch. In certain embodiments, aproximity sensor, location sensor, and/or motion sensor of the smartwatch may be utilized to determine whether the first user 101 is stillwearing the smart watch. As another example, the system 100 maydetermine that the smart watch is no longer being used if the first user101 turns off the smart watch or does not use one or more functions ofthe smart watch for a threshold period of time. In certain embodiments,the determining may be performed by utilizing the first user device 102,the second user device 106, the third user device 110, the fourth userdevice 116, the server 140, the server 145, the server 150, the server160, the server 170, the communications network 135, the communicationsnetwork 165, the device ecosystem 114, any combination thereof, or byutilizing any other appropriate program, network, system, or device.

If, at step 216, it is determined that the first user 101 is no longerwearing the first wearable device and/or not utilizing the firstwearable device, such as for a threshold period of time, the method 200may proceed to step 218. At step 218, the method 200 may includedeactivating the connectivity services enabled and/or provisioned forthe first wearable device, removing any predefined settings pushed tothe first wearable device, removing any data and/or content received bythe first wearable device while the connectivity services were enabled,removing the first wearable device from the device ecosystem 114, or anycombination thereof. For example, if it is determined that the firstuser 101 has taken off the smart watch, the system 100 may deactivatethe connectivity services for the smart watch and remove any settingsand data and/or content received by the smart watch. In certainembodiments, step 218 may be performed by utilizing the first userdevice 102, the second user device 106, the third user device 110, thefourth user device 116, the server 140, the server 145, the server 150,the server 160, the server 170, the communications network 135, thecommunications network 165, the device ecosystem 114, any combinationthereof, or by utilizing any other appropriate program, network, system,or device. If, however, at step 216, it is determined that the firstuser 101 is still wearing the first wearable device, the method 200 may,at step 220, maintain connectivity services for the first wearabledevice. Using the example above, the system 100 may continue to allowthe connectivity services for the smart watch and the smart watch mayshare connectivity, communications, and data with the devices in thedevice ecosystem 114. In certain embodiments, the maintaining of theconnectivity services may be performed by utilizing the first userdevice 102, the second user device 106, the third user device 110, thefourth user device 116, the server 140, the server 145, the server 150,the server 160, the server 170, the communications network 135, thecommunications network 165, the device ecosystem 114, any combinationthereof, or by utilizing any other appropriate program, network, system,or device. Notably, the method 200 may further incorporate any of thefeatures and functionality described for the system 100 or as otherwisedescribed herein.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may include additionalfunctionality and features. For example, based on the functionalityprovided by the systems and methods, in certain embodiments, the systemsand methods may provide an ecosystem 114 of devices that support usersthat want to have multiple cellular-connected devices under a singleplan. Additionally, the systems and methods may enable service switchingbetween the devices in the plan. Furthermore, the systems and methodsmay allow for the sharing of connected devices between users, such asbetween friends and family, which allows for the development of asharing economy that incentivizes users to share devices under the plan.In certain embodiments, the systems and methods may include transmittingnotifications to the users indicating when a particular device is notbeing utilized or is not being utilized a threshold amount. In such ascenario, the system 100 may recommend that the users may save money ifthe user disconnects the unutilized or under-utilized device from theplan.

The systems and methods may enable users to have multiple devices forone user under a plan and/or multiple users for a single device undertheir plan. The systems and methods may enable the users to switchseamlessly between owned devices and borrowed devices (e.g. the firstuser 101 may authorize the second user 115 to use one or more of thefirst user's 101 devices) receiving their services without significanteffort or provisioning for each device. Additionally, the systems andmethods save users from having to open up a separate plan forconnectivity services for each device they want to use. In certainembodiments, users may have multiple devices without having to maintainan individual connection for each device. In certain embodiments, thesystems and methods may allow for more efficient use of networkresources by only creating a connection for a wearable device while thewearable device is being worn and/or utilized. In certain embodiments,the users may specify that the predefined settings that are to be pushedto an authenticated device are the settings that correspond with anotherdevice in the device ecosystem 114. For example, the first user 101 mayspecify that the settings for the first user device 102 should be pushedto the second user device 106 when the second user device 106 isauthenticated. In such a scenario, the second user device 106 may havereceive the same notifications in the same way as the first user device102, for example. Similarly, notifications that are blocked on the firstuser device 102 may also be blocked on the second user device 106.

In certain embodiments, any device that is not currently authenticatedor has failed an authentication may be regulated and relegated to thecommunications network 165, which may prevent any such device from beingprovisioned with the connectivity services and receiving communicationsassociated with the devices in a particular device ecosystem 114 thatthe user was attempting to authenticate into. In certain embodiments, ifa device is stolen, the system 100 may monitor and track the location ofthe stolen device and share the location with the other devices in thedevice ecosystem 114. In certain embodiments, when a deviceauthenticates with the system 100, any preferences contained in a userprofile associated with the plan may be downloaded to the device that isauthenticated. For example, such preferences may be any type ofpreference including, but not limited to, preferences associated withvehicle 175, preferences associated with products, preferencesassociated with investments, preferences associated with websites, anyother preferences, or a combination thereof. As an example, if a smartwatch is authenticated and the first user 101 is being driven in vehicle175, the smart watch may transmit information contained in the profilethat indicates that the first user 101 likes the air conditioning at 75degrees, the top up, and/or that the user does not like to be drivenfaster than 60 miles per hour. Based on the information received fromthe smart watch, the vehicle 175 may automatically adjust the airconditioning settings, put the top up, and ensure that the vehicle 175does not accelerate past 60 miles per hour. In certain embodiments, eachof the devices in the system 100 may be IoT devices, which may beconfigured to communicatively link to each other using IoT technologies.

Referring now also to FIG. 3, at least a portion of the methodologiesand techniques described with respect to the exemplary embodiments ofthe system 100 can incorporate a machine, such as, but not limited to,computer system 300, or other computing device within which a set ofinstructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one ormore of the methodologies or functions discussed above. The machine maybe configured to facilitate various operations conducted by the system100. For example, the machine may be configured to, but is not limitedto, assist the system 100 by providing processing power to assist withprocessing loads experienced in the system 100, by providing storagecapacity for storing instructions or data traversing the system 100, orby assisting with any other operations conducted by or within the system100.

In some embodiments, the machine may operate as a standalone device. Insome embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., usingcommunications network 135, communications network 165, device ecosystem114, another network, or a combination thereof) to and assist withoperations performed by other machines and systems, such as, but notlimited to, the first user device 102, the second user device 106, thethird user device 110, the device ecosystem 114, the fourth user device116, the server 140, the server 145, the server 150, the database 155,the server 160, the server 170, the vehicle 175, the home 178, the hotel180, the shop 182, the bank 184, the entity 185, or any combinationthereof. The machine may be connected with any component in the system100. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacityof a server or a client user machine in a server-client user networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine may comprise a server computer, aclient user computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a control system, a network router, switchor bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines thatindividually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructionsto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 300 may include a processor 302 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 304 and a static memory 306, which communicate with each othervia a bus 308. The computer system 300 may further include a videodisplay unit 310, which may be, but is not limited to, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a flat panel, a solid state display, or a cathode raytube (CRT). The computer system 300 may include an input device 312,such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, a cursor control device 314,such as, but not limited to, a mouse, a disk drive unit 316, a signalgeneration device 318, such as, but not limited to, a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 320.

The disk drive unit 316 may include a machine-readable medium 322 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions 324, such as, but notlimited to, software embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein, including those methods illustrated above.The instructions 324 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 304, the static memory 306, or within theprocessor 302, or a combination thereof, during execution thereof by thecomputer system 300. The main memory 304 and the processor 302 also mayconstitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine-readable medium 322containing instructions 324 so that a device connected to thecommunications network 135, the device ecosystem 114, the communicationsnetwork 165, another network, or a combination thereof, can send orreceive voice, video or data, and communicate over the communicationsnetwork 135, the device ecosystem 114, the communications network 165,another network, or a combination thereof, using the instructions. Theinstructions 324 may further be transmitted or received over thecommunications network 135, the device ecosystem 114, the communicationsnetwork 165, another network, or a combination thereof, via the networkinterface device 320.

While the machine-readable medium 322 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that causes the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The terms “machine-readable medium,” “machine-readable device,” or“computer-readable device” shall accordingly be taken to include, butnot be limited to: memory devices, solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. The “machine-readable medium,” “machine-readable device,” or“computer-readable device” may be non-transitory, and, in certainembodiments, may not include a wave or signal per se. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of amachine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

The illustrations of arrangements described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Other arrangements may be utilized andderived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions andchanges may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure.Figures are also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may beminimized. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Thus, although specific arrangements have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific arrangementshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments and arrangements of the invention.Combinations of the above arrangements, and other arrangements notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description. Therefore, it is intended thatthe disclosure not be limited to the particular arrangement(s) disclosedas the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but thatthe invention will include all embodiments and arrangements fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, anddescribing embodiments of this invention. Modifications and adaptationsto these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art andmay be made without departing from the scope or spirit of thisinvention. Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would beevident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art that saidembodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhanced without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the claims described below.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: authenticating, by a processing systemincluding a processor, a first wearable device worn by a first user foraccess to connectivity services of a service provider; connecting, bythe processing system after the authenticating the first wearabledevice, the first wearable device to a device ecosystem; delivering, bythe processing system to the first wearable device, predefined settingsestablished for the first wearable device; delivering, by the processingsystem to the first wearable device, a communication sent to a primarydevice of the first user different from the first wearable device; andremoving, by the processing system from the first wearable device, thepredefined settings and the communication when the first user no longerwears the first wearable device, wherein the first wearable device isblocked from accessing the device ecosystem if the first wearable deviceis not utilized for a threshold period of time.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising provisioning, by the processing system after theauthenticating the first wearable device, the connectivity services forthe first wearable device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theconnectivity services are associated with a plan by the serviceprovider, wherein the primary device is associated with the plan, andwherein the communication is delivered to the first wearable deviceafter receiving the communication from the primary device.
 4. The methodof claim 3, further comprising receiving, by the processing system,first biometric data from the first wearable device.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the authenticating is performed in accordance withdetermining that the first biometric data matches second biometric dataassociated with the plan.
 6. The method of claim 3, further comprisingdetermining, by the processing system, a first movement signature of thefirst user, based on movement tracking information received from thefirst wearable device.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein theauthenticating is performed in accordance with determining that thefirst movement signature matches a second movement signature associatedwith the plan.
 8. The method of claim 3, further comprising downloading,by the processing system to the first wearable device, preferencescontained in a user profile associated with the plan after theauthenticating the first wearable device.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the device ecosystem comprises a first network, and furthercomprising connecting, by the processing system, the first wearabledevice to a second network to block the first wearable device fromaccessing the first network if the first wearable device is not utilizedfor the threshold period of time.
 10. A device comprising: a processingsystem including a processor; and a memory that stores executableinstructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitateperformance of operations comprising: authenticating a first wearabledevice worn by a first user for access to connectivity services of aservice provider; connecting, after the authenticating the firstwearable device, the first wearable device to a first network;delivering, to the first wearable device, predefined settingsestablished for the first wearable device; delivering, to the firstwearable device, a communication sent to a primary device of the firstuser different from the first wearable device; and removing, from thefirst wearable device, the predefined settings and the communicationwhen the first user no longer wears the first wearable device, whereinthe first wearable device is blocked from accessing the first network byconnecting the first wearable device to a second network if the firstwearable device is not utilized for a threshold period of time.
 11. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise provisioningthe connectivity services for the first wearable device, after theauthenticating the first wearable device.
 12. The device of claim 10,wherein the connectivity services are associated with a plan by theservice provider, wherein the primary device is associated with theplan, and wherein the communication is delivered to the first wearabledevice after receiving the communication from the primary device. 13.The device of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprisereceiving first biometric data from the first wearable device, whereinthe authenticating is performed in accordance with determining that thefirst biometric data matches second biometric data associated with theplan.
 14. The device of claim 12, wherein the operations furthercomprise determining a first movement signature of the first user, basedon movement tracking information received from the first wearabledevice, wherein the authenticating is performed in accordance withdetermining that the first movement signature matches a second movementsignature associated with the plan.
 15. The device of claim 12, whereinthe operations further comprise downloading, to the first wearabledevice, preferences contained in a user profile associated with the planafter the authenticating the first wearable device.
 16. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations comprising: authenticating a first wearabledevice worn by a first user for access to connectivity services of aservice provider; connecting, after the authenticating the firstwearable device, the first wearable device to a first network;provisioning, after the authenticating the first wearable device, theconnectivity services for the first wearable device; delivering, to thefirst wearable device, predefined settings established for the firstwearable device; delivering, to the first wearable device, acommunication sent to a primary device of the first user different fromthe first wearable device; and removing, from the first wearable device,the predefined settings and the communication when the first user nolonger wears the first wearable device, wherein the first wearabledevice is blocked from accessing the first network if the first wearabledevice is not utilized for a threshold period of time.
 17. Themachine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first wearable deviceis blocked from accessing the first network by connecting the firstwearable device to a second network.
 18. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 16, wherein the connectivity services are associated with a planby the service provider, wherein the primary device is associated withthe plan, and wherein the communication is delivered to the firstwearable device after receiving the communication from the primarydevice.
 19. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein theoperations further comprise receiving first biometric data from thefirst wearable device, wherein the authenticating is performed inaccordance with determining that the first biometric data matches secondbiometric data associated with the plan.
 20. The machine-readable mediumof claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise determining a firstmovement signature of the first user, based on movement trackinginformation received from the first wearable device, wherein theauthenticating is performed in accordance with determining that thefirst movement signature matches a second movement signature associatedwith the plan.